The Space presents Elegies for Angles, Punks and Raging Queens Featuring All Local Tampa Bay Cast

Tampa, FL, March 21, 2016 – The Space continues its inaugural season with the musical Elegies for Angles, Punks and Raging Queens by Bill Russell and Janet Hood, and directed by The Space’s Artistic Director, Jared O’Roark. Performances are April 15-17 and April 22-24 and tickets are on sale now at www.thespaceat2106.com.

Elegies for Angels, Punks, and Raging Queens is a celebration of living through the stories of those who have died. This unique musical, where actors play five to six characters a piece, is told by the individuals who have had their lives forever represented as a panel on an AIDS quilt. Through the use of poetry, comedy, music and drama, this one-of-a-kind musical shows us that we have to breathe in every second of life, and enjoy every simple moment that we have.

In keeping with The Space’s mission of supporting the arts and artists in Tampa Bay, the diverse cast is compromised completely of local actors. Additionally, a partnership has been forged with visual artists from within the Tampa Bay community to exhibit original works to represent the panels on the AIDS quilt. These works will be sold throughout the production. This unique experience is designed to fully immerse the audience in the lives of the characters in Elegies while bridging the gap between visual and performing arts and bringing an important topic to the forefront of the minds of the viewer.

For this production, The Space has teamed up with AIDS Healthcare in Safety Harbor. Recently, Florida was named number two in the country of new diagnoses of HIV. These have primarily been on an upswing in both the youth and the elderly. Though not the death sentence it once was, Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens pays homage to the countless people who gave up their lives for advancement to be made in this field. By using a diverse array of artists the show reminds us that catastrophe doesn’t choose a type, and is best conquered when we are unified.

Jared O’Roark has been working in theater in the Tampa Bay area for 15 years as a producer, director, writer, artistic director, actor, and an arts education creator and leader. After 15 years at Ruth Eckerd Hall, O’Roark left his position as the Artistic Producing Manager, to develop a performance space that audiences, artists and leaders of all diversified backgrounds can call home.

He created, Project: Shattered Silence, which took the real personal stories of teenagers and turned them into a theatrical production. Project was developed into a documentary by WEDU, the local PBS affiliate. This documentary was taken national, and has since won over 45 film awards and has been accepted into numerous film festivals across the country from Virginia to California. The documentary also received a 2014 Emmy® nomination as well as several film awards, including the Louisville Film Festival Best Documentary Award, the Dr. Phillips Focus on Art Award, Best Documentary at the Global Independent Film Festival, and many others. Project: Shattered Silence also had a features segment on the program Arts Plus, which won the 2013 Emmy® Award.

O’Roark is also the recipient of the Images of Voices and Hope Award, the Global Independent Film Festival Humanitarian Award, the Heart of Art Award, and was given a Best of the Bay Award for Best Theatrical Risk Taker.

About The Space: The Space is a new and exciting performance venue where the action takes place around the audience. As everything in The Space is moveable it allows for a unique experience every time you enter. Our goal is to be a cultural force for the Tampa community arts scene; advocating for a diverse voice in genre and artist.